Disability Employment Month Should Change What Employers Measure, Says Dr. Kirk Adams

As the nation celebrates disabled workers’ value and talent, Adams calls for quarterly scrutiny of hiring, advancement, accessibility and accommodations.

SEATTLE, WA, UNITED STATES, October 19, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — National Disability Employment Awareness Month puts disabled workers in the spotlight. Dr. Kirk Adams, immediate past president and CEO of the American Foundation for the Blind, says employers should use that attention to examine what happens during the other 11 months.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s 2026 theme is “Celebrating Value and Talent.” Yet the latest annual figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show a persistent divide: In 2025, 38.1% of people with disabilities ages 16 to 64 were employed. Across age groups, people with disabilities were less likely to be employed than people without disabilities.

“Celebrating talent matters. Removing the barriers that keep talent out of work matters more,” Adams said. “Employers can make disability inclusion part of how they hire, equip, promote and retain people every day of the year.”

Adams urges employers to put four questions on their quarterly leadership agendas: Are applicants and employees with disabilities advancing? How long do workplace accommodations take? Can employees use the digital tools required for their jobs? When a barrier is reported, who is responsible for fixing it?

A blind executive and the author of The Disability Dividend: Supercharge Your Bottom-Line Through Disability Inclusion, Adams says barriers can accumulate across the built environment, workplace technology and social expectations. A hiring platform that a screen reader cannot navigate, an inaccessible training course or a manager’s assumptions about capability can each close off opportunity before a worker’s talent is considered.

The employment figures also call for attention to differences within the disability community. In 2025, the unemployment rate among Black workers with disabilities was 11.8%, compared with 7.3% among white workers with disabilities. Adams says organizations should examine how disability intersects with race and other experiences when assessing whose talent reaches the workplace and whose advancement stalls.

“An October celebration can open the conversation,” Adams said. “The test is whether leaders are still asking these questions in January, April and July, and acting on the answers.”

Adams previously led The Lighthouse for the Blind, Inc. in Seattle and the American Foundation for the Blind. He now serves as managing director of Innovative Impact, LLC, advising organizations on disability inclusion and accessible work. He is available to discuss practical measures employers can take, the obstacles blind workers encounter and the broader economic case for inclusion.

About Dr. Kirk Adams

Dr. Kirk Adams is a blind executive, consultant, keynote speaker and author of The Disability Dividend. He is the former president and CEO of the American Foundation for the Blind and The Lighthouse for the Blind, Inc. He holds a PhD in Leadership and Change from Antioch University.

Dr. Kirk Adams
Innovative Impact, LLC
+1 206-660-1363
kirkadams@drkirkadams.com
Visit us on social media:
LinkedIn
Facebook
YouTube
X
Other

Media gallery